I don't want to sidetrack this thread too much but here are a few points. 1. Duncan played 4 years in college. 2. KAT, at 20 yrs old (sophmore in college) is already a way better shooter than Duncan ever was, while averaging similar Per 36 numbers to Duncan's rookie year. Duncan is the greatest ever no doubt, but Towns is the real deal. His ceiling is very comparable to Davis. Perhaps even higher.
duncan also joined a team that had david robinson still near his prime and had made the playoffs and been in contention for a while. they just famously tanked the one year that tim duncan became available in the draft. towns looks about as good to me now as duncan did then. he's that good. and i wouldn't say i'm not a randle fan, i just think he has a lot further to go than some here do.
From Nance thread, but about Julius Those numbers are middle of the pack But without a coach to hijak Or even hold back In his year of comeback Go ahead and talk smack Next year I can't wait to look back And listen to them backtrack Their opinions and their feed back Of our monster running back As he ransack putback, set back, and take back, maybe even throw back And juggle massive ball sack Watch defenders fall back As they fade to pitch black That's what I call payback.
I'm not sure who some are honestly. There's only been a few of us who are really into this kid and post in this thread regularly and even we admit he's got a long way to go. In fact I'd say MOST fans think this kid has a long way to go. That doesn't mean you can't admire the work he's already put in or the talent he's already shown. At just 21 years old, he's doing some remarkable things. I think that's fair to say and I think it's fair to put him among the top players from the last two seasons. In the last two years only two players are averaging a double-double and more than 1.5 assists: Towns and Randle. Towns has by far the most double-doubles from the last two draft classes at 48 (out of 77), but Julius is 2nd at a more than respectable 34 (out of 75). By comparison, the next rookie/sophomores on the list are Porzingis at 21 and Aaron Gordon at 12 total. Julius has more double-doubles than established stars like Kevin Love (33), Paul Milsap (28), LeBron James (28), Kevin Durant (27), LaMarcus Aldridge (25), James Harden (22), and Carmelo Anthony (22). A guy some look at as a rebounding monster in Faried has 21 (in 65 games) and Rudy Gobert has less (19). Admittedly guys like Harden, Draymond, and LeBron have more triple-doubles (3 each for LeBron/Harden but Draymond has 13!), but at 21 years old Julius has one of his own. At 21 years old, he's the youngest guy in the league with a triple-double. Well tied with Giannis who has come out of nowhere as the next stage in PG evolution (he has 5 triple-doubles this season!). It's not a bad thing to acknowledge and accept his talents. You can do that while also accepting that he's got a long way to go.
This had me thinking, now that the sophomore season for the 2014 Draft Class is almost complete, which pick would Julius Randle have been drafted knowing what we all know now? My 2014 hindsight re-draft would look like... 1. Wiggins 2. Randle 3. Jabari Parker 4. Aaron Gordon 5. Nikolas Jokic 6. Elfred Payton 7. Jordan Clarkson 8. Marcus Smart 9. Zach Lavine 10. Garry Harris
If the draft was redone today? 1. Wiggins 2. Randle 3. Nurkic 4. Gordon 5. Parker 6. Clarkson 7. Hood 8. LaVine 9. Capela 10. Harris 11. Payton 12. Exum 13. Smart 14. McDermott 15. Embiid 16. McDaniels 17. Wilcox 18. Grant 19. Powell 20. Warren 21-60 The rest.
I would have last summer, but he's made very good strides in his game. The last thing he needs to be a very good NBA contributor is a jumper (like Randle). It's a reach pick, but his ceiling is higher I believe than Jordan's is and you might have me at Parker. Parker has been a little underwhelming though.
Yes they had David Robinson and he was great, but Duncan was the clear cut man on the team. He was by far the #1 reason they become instant contenders. No way is Towns as good as Duncan was and that's no knock. You're talking about at worst the second best player of this era. Look at that Wolves team. They're still a bad team. Is it Towns fault of course not? But if you had Duncan there even when he just came into the league they'd be at least a playoff team probably a three or four seed. His impact was that great. Towns is really good and could perhaps be the best big in the game, but I don't see all time best power forward. His game just isn't anywhere near as complete as Duncan's is or was. Nobody at his position is. Even as Robinson declined and eventually retired they were still right there every year because of Duncan. In 2003 when Robinson was on his way out and Ginobli and Parker were just starting he took that team to the title and had a playoff run for the ages. Put them on his back. I can't ever see Towns having a similar run like that. Not many can.
I think this is hindsight bias. Duncan was a 4 year college player, and I don't think he looked better than towns has this year. I'd argue Duncan's game was less "complete" than towns' is now, if we're talking versatility and diversity of skills. if towns had joined a team with popovich as coach and an all-nba center and mvp candidate as a running mate, they'd be winning plenty of games.
One more than Biff and DJ combined That's great we're in agreement But scoring only 7 points? Now that is pretty anemic Spoiler Put your balls in the basket bro
Terrible shooting night for sure, but the rebounding was just ridiculous. 20 boards? Crazy. 13 in the first half alone. It's like he's got magnets or something the way the ball comes to him at times. 20 rebounds.
No confidence at all in the jumper right now. He's flinging it at the backboard like he's trying to get the ball off his hands. Just take a billion jumpers this off-season Julius. You've got so far to climb still. Who wast he last Laker that ate rebounds like this though? I can't recall anyone off the top of my head right now. Kareem and Elgin lead the way for us, but I'm not sure they were magnetic rebounders like Julius. They had other things they brought to the table more consistently (namely scoring). Not to mention they had the size/athletic advantage big time in their eras. Julius is both smaller and less bouncy (with smaller hands) than a lot of his contemporaries and yet he STILL crushes on the glass. Impressive. The Clippers also pack in the paint on him, throw random doubles his way, and keep him guessing. Byron has done the absolute worst job of preparing these guys for success. The worst. No coach could do worse than this.
I've never seen any Laker rebound like Julius does. He reminds me a lot of Charles Barkley in that regard. Obviously not quite as undersized but just the way he is such a natural rebounder that the ball seems to just come to him. Of course he's nowhere near the offensive player that Charles was, but he has time to develop more with the right work and the right coaching.
"that the ball seems to just come to him" Yeah no kidding. Like the first 5 rebounds literally pretty much bounced into his arms. I chuckled but it's a rebound.
